What if street lighting could not only improve visibility in a variety of conditions, but could also actively save money and cut carbon emissions? And what if it could even alert police to criminal activity? These and other questions could very shortly be answered thanks to a massive experiment currently taking place over 9km of roadways in a suburb of the Danish capital Copenhagen.

The initiative is all part of Copenhagen’s drive to be the world’s first carbon neutral capital by 2025, the first milestone of which is an ambitious reduction in carbon emissions of 20% by 2015.

Hundreds of lights supplied by 25 different producers are being installed in 37 plots in the suburb of Albertsland over an area covering roughly 1.5 square kilometres. Individual IP addresses have been allocated to each street lamp so that activity can be monitored from a remote location. As well as testing smart lamps that dim when it is sunny and brighten when a few people pass by at night, engineers are keen to investigate lamps that automatically prompt investigation in the event of a failure. In addition, lights powered by wind and solar energy will be tested, as will sensors that monitor atmospheric conditions, traffic density, noise and radiation levels.

To facilitate testing, Copenhagen has set up an organisation called DOLL (Danish Outdoor Lighting Lab). Flemming Madsen, manager of the project at DOLL, comments “you can say that we are an instrument of the green transition”.

Sources:

1. New Scientist:
   Massive smart light lab tests tech to slash emissions.
2. Lighting:
   Copenhagen trials smart street lighting.